By Reggie Gatlin-Holt

3 28 2024

GAME NOTES

https://arizonawildcats.com/documents/2024/3/26/Notes-G35-NCAA-Clemson.pdf

LOS ANGELES –  Making their 20th appearance in the Sweet 16, the No. 2 seed Arizona men’s basketball team will take on No. 6 seed Clemson in West Region Semifinal on Thursday. The Wildcats defeated Long Beach State and Dayton last week while Clemson topped New Mexico and Baylor on their way to Los Angeles.

Thursday’s game is scheduled to start at 4:09 p.m. PT at Crypto.com Arena with Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson and Allie LaForce on the call for CBS.

STARTING FIVE

1) Arizona improved to  of 60-36 (.625) in 38 all-time appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

2) This marks Arizona’s 20th appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and the second under Tommy Lloyd. Overall, the Wildcats are 11-8 in the previous 19 appearances.

3) Second Team All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year Caleb Love has made 92 3-pointers this season, becoming the sixth Wildcat to make 90 or more in a season. He’s also one shy of tying his own personal single-season high. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists last weekend in Salt Lake City.

4) First Team All Pac-12 honoree Oumar Ballo has 19 double-doubles this season and 33 for his career, both totals rank fourth in Arizona history in their respective categories. He is 10th in school history with 815 career rebounds.

5)  Arizona is 6-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played in Los Angeles; This will be the sixth appearance in L.A. in the tournament (1976, 1988, 1994, 2013, 2015, 2024)

ARIZONA VS. CLEMSON

• Arizona is 3-0 all-time against Clemson, with the Wildcats winning the most recent meeting, a 66-54 decision on Dec. 8, 2012.

• The two programs also met on Dec. 10, 2011 in Tucson and Arizona won that game, 63-47.

• The first meeting between the two programs came in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 18, 1989 in Boise, Idaho. Arizona won, 94-68, behind 25 points from Sean Elliott and 19 points from Matt Muehlebach.

NOTING THE WILDCATS

• Five players scored in double figures against LBSU, the 19th time Arizona has done that this season (leads NCAA).

• Head coach Tommy Lloyd is 88-19 (.821) in his third season at Arizona. He is one win shy of tying the NCAA record for wins by a first time head coach in his first three seasons.

• The Wildcats are 19-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed.

• Arizona is one of two teams in the country with three players recording 120+ assists this season (Gonzaga).

• The 651 assists by Arizona this season are tied for fifth in school history. Under Lloyd, Arizona has registered three of the top five seasons in team assists in program history.

• Senior Pelle Larsson earned Second Team All Pac-12 honors and is 10 of 18 from the 3-point line over the last four games. He had 15 points vs. LBSU and 13 points vs. Dayton.

• Senior Keshad Johnson keyed the Arizona offense to start the second half vs. LBSU, going on a personal 7-0 run to extend the lead. In the second round game against Dayton, Johnson finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and two steals. He earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention accolades while also setting personal career highs in nearly every offensive category this season. Johnson has made 36 3FG this season after making a total of 28 in four years at San Diego State and is connecting at a 40.0% clip this season from behind the line. Johnson has scored in double figures 24 out of 35 games this season at Arizona. In his four seasons, and 113 games, at San Diego State, he scored in double figures 25 times.

• Sophomore Kylan Boswell has 129 assists and just 61 turnovers this season. The native of Champaign, Ill., has scored in double figures 20 times this season, including a career-high 20 points against Long Beach State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.  He is averaging 9.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 38.5% from the 3-point line.

• Sophomore Jaden Bradley is in his first season in Tucson after playing his freshman year at Alabama. Coming out of high school, his final two schools were Alabama and Arizona. He was the most impactful player for Arizona in the win over Dayton, recording 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocked shots in 27 minutes of action. While his numbers for the season may not jump off the page (6.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists), it is his impact at the defensive end that is noteworthy. According to EvanMiya.com, Bradley is one of the top 10 players in the country in defensive impact on a game. His season high scoring output was a career-high 21 points against Arizona State on Feb. 17.

• Freshman KJ Lewis was a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention player this season. He led all scorers with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor vs. USC at the Pac-12 Tournament. He also added six rebounds. His top two scoring games of the year have come in the last four games (18 pts at UCLA on 3/7/24). His 37 steals are the 10th-most by an Arizona freshman in program history.

• Motiejus Krivas is averaging 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds while playing 12.3 minutes per game this season. The 7-foot-2 post player from Lithuania is also 49-63 (77.8%) at the free throw line and is shooting 55.0% from the floor. His top offensive game came on Nov. 17 when he scored 20 points against Belmont. Against Dayton, he chipped in with four poitns and three rebounds in nine minutes of playing time. He did not attempt a shot from the floor, but he had six rebounds and was a defensive force in the paint at UCLA on March 7.

• Caleb Love is a semifinalist for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy and a finalist for the Jerry West Award for the top shooting guard in the country.

RECORD AT CRYPTO.COM ARENA
Since Crypto.com Arena opened in October of 1999 as the Staples Center, Arizona has played 15 games in the venue. The Wildcats record is 12-13 in those games.

The last time Arizona played in the building was Dec. 3, 2016, in a 69-62 loss to No. 8 Gonzaga.

COURTESY ARIZONA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS